Friday, May 04, 2018 1:00 am

Letters

Political sign pollution

Can people please give up the political yard sign madness? If people are really voting for whose name they see the most, then how ridiculous is that? The signs are annoying and are a great way to pollute the earth while accomplishing nothing at the same time.

I plan on voting for the people whose signs I see the least. If people would stop with the spamming of crappy political signs, then maybe people would actually be interested in the issues the candidates are running on instead of just voting for whose names they recognize the most.

Nick Giant

Fort Wayne

Court case forcing baker to subjugate his beliefs

On April 17, The Journal Gazette ran an opinion piece, “The freedom not to hide oneself” by Ria Tabacco Mar, the lawyer pursuing Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop. In question is Phillips' First Amendment right to operate his business according to his deeply held beliefs. We are told Phillips turned down a customer simply because he was gay. Mar contends the case is about whether Masterpiece Cakeshop has a constitutional right to say, “Your kind is not served here.” This is surely misleading and slanderous.

Phillips happily serves all people of every race and sexual orientation. The issue is whether the law can compel him to use his artistic skills to celebrate that which goes against his beliefs. Had the same-sex couple asked for a birthday cake, he would have joyfully decorated it. In fact, he had long served the people who sued him.

Phillips believes marriage is a lifelong bond between a man and a woman. This is not discriminatory, nor is it unreasonable. He simply thinks every child has a right to a mom and a dad. To lump such honorable thinking in with racism is its own kind of bigotry, and it is on the rise. Everywhere we look, disagreement is labeled hate and free speech is silenced.

Mar's depiction of the cultural scene is patently false. Although a member of the cultural elite, she claims to be marginalized. Does she really need to be protected while “going about our daily lives of being turned away from stores, banks and hotels simply because of who we are”? What world is she living in? Surely one fabricated to drive Phillips out of business and silence all opposition.

Almost every major corporation, and every minor one, too, flies the rainbow flag. Almost every university, newspaper and news network is on her side. Yet, for all these triumphs, Mar seems to know nothing of tolerance or accommodation, mercy or understanding. The admonition to coexist has turned into coercion. Every last bit of disagreement, even from someone as kind, considerate and loving as Phillips, must be stomped out.

Mar hopes for the freedom not to hide herself. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. It is people like Phillips who are sent into hiding, as are our First Amendment rights. Marriage is meant to be a lifelong union, ensuring a child the love of the mother and the protection of a father. Is that so terrible a thing to say? Why do we always have to send in the lawyers? Phillips would probably invite all of us over for cake and coffee, and we could talk about it. That's the way forward in a civil and free society.

Peter J. Scaer

Fort Wayne

CHEERS to the wonderful person/people in the car in front of me at the drive through at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken on April 13 who paid for my order and even told the cashier to give me the change. Usually, on Friday the 13th, I tried not going outside because something bad happened to me in the past. But on this day, this nice person changed my belief.

The past two years, our family had so many wonderful people helping due to our daughter being very sick; she is still recovering. I've made this gesture at the drive through for others but never wanted anything in return. When this happened, I felt so grateful and appreciative that this person took the time to acknowledge another human being without hesitation.

Our family wants to send our sincere thanks to you and your loved ones. You made our Friday night a special one because we were able to share your kind gesture with our daughter, whom we almost lost 21/2 years ago.